The present invention relates to an electric wire bundler for bundling electric wires and attaching them to the panel of a vehicle body or the like.
FIG. 1 shows a front view of a conventional electric wire bundler A for bundling electric wires and attaching them to the panel of a vehicle body or the like as disclosed in the Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 69385/79. FIG. 2 shows a partially-sectional side view of the conventional electric wire bundler A. An anchor 2 projects from the bottom of the body 1 of the bundler A, and is provided with flexible engaging arms 3 at both the sides of the anchor. The engaging arms 3 have engaging notched portions 3a at the tips of the arms. When the anchor 2 is inserted into the hole of a support member such as a panel of a vehicle body, as shown in FIG. 4, the engaging arms 3 are flexed and passed through the hole so that the engaging notched portions 3a are elastically fitted in the hole to fasten the electric wire bundler A to the support member. A flexible band 4 extends from the top of the body 1 of the bundler A, and is provided with a plurality of engaging grooves 4a juxtaposed in the longitudinal direction of the band. The central portion of the body 1 has an insertion hole 5, into which the band 4 is inserted. An engaging arm 6 having a projection 6a, which is engaged in one of the engaging grooves 4a of the band 4, is provided in the insertion hole 5 so that the engaging arm functions as an engaging means which does not hinder the band from being inserted into the insertion hole 5 but is engaged with the inserted band to prevent the band from being moved in the direction reverse to that of the insertion of the band into the hold. When the band 4 is to be taken out of the insertion hole 5, the tip 6b of the engaging arm 6 is pushed to flex the arm to disengage the projection 6a out of the engaging groove 4a of the band. Guide projections 7 are provided at both the side edges of the tip of the band 4 so that the guide projections are fitted in grooves 8 provided in the body 1 along the insertion hole 5, and guide the band as it is inserted into the insertion hole.
The use of the electric wire bundler a is described from now on. Electric wires W are first surrounded by the band 4. The tip of the band 4 is then inserted into the insertion hole 5 of the body 1 of the bundler A, and pulled through the hole so that the electric wires are tightly bundled and the engaging projection 6a of the engaging arm 6 is engaged in one of the engaging grooves 4a of the band to keep the electric wires tightly bundled. After that, the anchor 2 of the bundler a is fitted into the hole of the support member so that the electric wires are attached to the support member by the bundler, as shown in FIG. 4.
Because of the distance l between the axis of the anchor 2 of the conventional electric wire bundler a and the center of the bundle of the electric wires W and the weight of the wires or an external force F thereon, torque Fl acts to the anchor so that the anchor is likely to undergo damage, coming-off from the support member or the like.
Since the electric wires W are not all tightly bundled by the band 4, the electric wires are likely to move or shift inside the band.